Fitzgerald Park on Cork’s Mardyke is once again open fully to the public in all its floral and artistic glory, flanked by Diarmuid Gavin’s controversial Sky Garden and the restored Fr Mathew Fountain.

Bright, fun, futuristic and a little fantastic — just what the man who gave Fitzgerald Park its name would have appreciated.

From a flying Sky Garden in Chelsea to a stunning viewing platform over the banks of the Lee — the transformation is finally complete.

A €4.5m transformation of Marina Park, Cork, will get under way in September which is set to restore the area to its former Victorian splendour.

The €2.3m regeneration of Cork’s landmark Fitzgerald Park will help attract more British tourists to Ireland.

Cork’s city manager hopes the signing today of a €2.3m contract to revamp a landmark park will finally put an end to the ‘Sky Garden’ controversy which has dogged the scheme for almost two years.

Cork’s city manager has offered a staunch defence of the contentious Sky Garden project, saying criticism was “infuriating”.

A Victorian exhibition garden, a sensory garden, and Diarmuid Gavin’s controversial Sky Garden will be installed in Fitzgerald Park in Cork as part of upgrade works starting in October.

Celebrity gardener Diarmuid Gavin was very much down to earth for the launch of a community project to build an inner-city garden for homeless people in Dublin yesterday.

Celebrity gardener Diarmuid Gavin has poured further fuel on the fire in the Sky Garden row by claiming that working with Cork City Council and Fáilte Ireland on the project was like “working with Father Ted... like Craggy Island”.

Cork’s city manager has moved to “finally nail” suggestions that celebrity gardener Diarmuid Gavin’s flying pod cost taxpayers €2.3m.

Accumulated losses continued at companies controlled by celebrity gardener Diarmuid Gavin in 2010, new figures show.

CORK City Council has dispensed with the services of Diarmuid Gavin and is to press ahead with the controversial Sky Garden project with other contractors, the city manager has told councillors.

CORK city officials are still in talks with celebrity gardener Diarmuid Gavin over how his Sky Garden can be incorporated into a park earmarked for a €1.8 million revamp.

PLANS to create a multi-million euro outreach centre at University College Cork received another major setback yesterday as An Bord Pleanála (APB) refused it planning permission.

A COLLEGE took several steps towards a healthier lifestyle yesterday.

MUNSTER’S biggest third-level college was under fire last night for failing to tackle chronic parking problems at its sprawling city campus.